These brownie cupcakes are a colourful, easy Halloween bake

While scouring the internet for Halloween baking inspiration, I came across the idea for these brownie and sponge cupcakes at two sisters. They manage to get a much stronger orange colour in their sponge – they must have better food colouring! I used my own recipes for the brownies and sponge and included a green variation.

A note: my coloured sponge layer came out quite thin, as you can see from the photos. If you’d like a thicker sponge layer in your Halloween brownie cupcakes or are using muffin cases, double up the sponge layer ingredient amounts given here.

Make the brownie layer first. Melt the butter either in a heatproof bowl over a pan of hot water or in the microwave. If you’re using the microwave you’ll only need 20-30 seconds to melt the butter. Add the cocoa powder to the melted butter and stir until combined and smooth.

In another bowl, beat together the egg and sugar. Add the chocolate mixture and finally stir in the flour until you have an even brownie mixture.

Spoon approximately one dessertspoonful of the brownie mixture into each of the cupcake cases. You should put enough in each case to fully cover the bottom.

Now make the sponge mixture.

You can use the all-in-one method, putting the butter, sugar, egg and flour into the mixer or bowl at the same time and stirring until you get a smooth mixture. I prefer to beat the butter for 3-4 minutes until it becomes whiter in colour (of course this is simple when you have a mixer or electric hand beaters. If you only have elbow grease to rely on, do your best!). Add the sugar and beat for another 3-4 minutes until the mixture is smooth and light.

Add the egg and beat the mixture. Add the flour and stir in gently. If you’re using a mixer, you might want to fold the flour in by hand.

If you want to use more than one colour in your sponge, this is when you split the basic sponge mixture into two bowls. Add the colouring into the sponge mixture and stir until the colour is evenly distributed. Keep adding colour until you get the shade you want. If you’d like to add flavouring to your sponge, this is the moment to do so. If you’re using peppermint essence, you’ll only need 1-2 drops.

Drop a spoonful of the sponge mixture into each of the cases on top of the brownie mixture. Use the back of a teaspoon to spread the sponge mixture evenly over the brownie base.

Bake the Halloween brownie cupcakes for about 15 minutes until they’ve risen and browned slightly.

Leave the Halloween brownie cupcakes in the tin for 15 minutes until they’re cool enough to remove from the tin using your hands but still warm. I advise removing the paper cases while the cupcakes are still warm to prevent sticking. Peel down the edges of the each case gently, removing the bottom of the cupcake last.

Once out of their cases, leave the cupcakes on a wire rack to finish cooling.

Decoration

While your Halloween brownie cupcakes are cooling, make the buttercream icing. To ice 12 cupcakes you’ll need approx. 4 oz / 115 g of butter and 7 oz / 200 g of icing sugar. If you have an electric mixer, beat the butter for at least 5 minutes until it has lost most of its yellow colour, then add the icing sugar. Blend your butter and icing sugar together (remember to go slowly to avoid creating an icing sugar cloud!) until you get a smooth buttercream.

If your buttercream is too stiff, add a little milk to loosen it. Spoon your buttercream icing into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe a swirl of buttercream onto each of your cupcakes and add some Halloween sprinkles (I got mine at the local supermarket).

Here’s what they look like when you cut them open:

Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Best eaten as soon as possible after baking and within 3 days.